Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

It's Tuesday, June 3rd, and that means it's time for another Final Fantasy count-up entry! Each day ahead of the release of the new Universes Beyond set, I'm writing a piece wherein I list some of the best and most flavorful cards from each game in the series! Yesterday, I covered FFVI, my personal favorite. Today, we are looking at Final Fantasy VII, arguably the most popular game in the franchise!

The criteria we're working with for this superlative list is as follows:

• Honorable Mention - These usually will be a cycle or group of cards that are great but don't quite measure up to the "best" in the categories we have chosen to cover. (Today's list will only have one card.)
• Best as a Commander - This category covers, as advertised, the best commander to lead a deck in Commander, but may also look briefly at other Command Zone-driven formats.
• Best in the 99 - This section discusses my choice for the best card in a given 99 of a deck. It may be a ubiquitous card, but it might also just be a card with a fair amount of utility.
• Most Flavorful - The most fun to play card in a storytelling context will be deemed Most Flavorful. For example, we covered Town GreeterTown Greeter in our FFI list for its fun lore synergies with Towns, especially those with specific Final Fantasy town names.
• Best In Show - The very best of these cards in a balance of the above categories.

Furthermore, cards from the Commander precons, Through the Ages, and promotional/Secret Lair cards are ineligible for consideration. We want to keep this strictly from the main set.

With that, let's begin!

Honorable Mention

Wow, I bet you didn't see this coming!

Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is a card that, by most intents and purposes, should be a high-ranking card in most any set. It's powerful, it's iconic, and it rises above and beyond most other cards in its weight class. However, for all it's worth, it doesn't do that here. It's only an Honorable Mention. Why? Well, to be fair, this set is positively stacked with cool cards! It's not that Sephiroth is bad by any stretch of the imagination; however, there are better cards in the set to match my criteria therein. Ultimately, though, this card had to make this list, and so to the Honorable Mentions he goes.

Best as a Commander

Cloud, Midgar MercenaryCloud, Midgar Mercenary is a strong choice to pilot a mono-white Commander deck. Cloud Strife is one of the more iconic characters of Final Fantasy VII, if not the most iconic. His reputation precedes him. And, as a powerful, impactful Equipment commander, Cloud certainly lives up to it in Magic.

Cloud is a tutor from the command zone, and a potent one at that. Being able to search up any Equipment and put it into hand is a very strong ability. Be wary, though: some players will attempt to capitalize on timing with this card, and it won't work out. If you were to equip Cloud before his entry trigger resolves (with something like a Hero's BladeHero's Blade, for instance), you'll still only tutor up one Equipment, despite his triggers then being doubled. It's not an ideal play in many cases, unless you prefer to have him equipped for some doubled effect later on.

That said, if you load Cloud up with plenty of Equipment that have triggers, or grant them, such as the SwordsSwords from MirrodinMirrodin or Umezawa's JitteUmezawa's Jitte, you probably have one of the scariest commanders on the battlefield. Happy hunting!

Best in the 99

Nibelheim AflameNibelheim Aflame is a great variant on Chandra's IgnitionChandra's Ignition. For one thing, Nibelheim Aflame only costs four mana to essentially wipe the board of all creatures (sans those protected). If that isn't enough, you can also do it again for ! Plus, when you do that, you can get four new cards. That's pretty impactful for a board wipe, especially because if it resolves, your opponents' hands are likely exhausted of cards too. And how cool is that art?

Most Flavorful

Come on, you knew we had to choose Aerith GainsboroughAerith Gainsborough for this superlative! And, if you didn't, feel free to skip ahead a paragraph because this one contains a massive spoiler for Final Fantasy VII. In the game, Sephiroth straight-up kills Aerith, which is a major plot point in the game and ultimately spurs on the end-stage of his plans. He is trying to stop Aerith from using her Holy magic to stop his Meteor spell from destroying the planet. It's a whole thing, and honestly, this iconic scene is probably the last motivation that Cloud and company needed in order to take Sephiroth down.

So that's why Aerith has the triggered ability she does. It's also very possible to enact that very scene from FFVII in this way!

So, with that, we move on to our Best In Show. I feel like you know what's coming, especially if you've been watching YouTube videos or reading other list articles on this very subject. So, in the greatest twist ever (I say with sincerest sarcasm), we chose...

Final Fantasy VII Best In Show

The Buster SwordBuster Sword!

Please, hold your applause. This card is legitimately the best Equipment in the set, even above Genji GloveGenji Glove or Aettir and PriwenAettir and Priwen. It slices, it dices, it does your laundry, and it even allows you to cast a boatload of spells if it sticks.

Lorewise, it uses Materia as a source for Cloud to use magic and summons, among other abilities. This is a good representation of that, in the context of the Magic: The Gathering card analogue. Overall, it's just a really strong piece of Equipment that can break the game if left alone on a creature for too long! Plus, equipped to Cloud, Midgar Mercenary (or Cloud, Ex-SOLDIERCloud, Ex-SOLDIER), it performs even better than it would on most any other given creature! How's that for a flavor win?

With that, we have reached the end of our Final Fantasy VII count-up entry. If you liked this series so far, feel free to let us know in the comments below! And, if you wish to read any more of them, the series so far is below as well.

Day 1: FFI | Day 2: FFII | Day 3: FFIII | Day 4: FFIV | Day 5: FFV |

Day 6: FFVI